1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to safety ladders and, more particularly, to a deployable ladder that will allow an overboard sailor to easily get back onboard his/her boat or an adjoining pier or dock.
2. Description of the Related Art
One who is alone and has fallen off a boat can, depending on the boat's location, face a very real and significant threat of drowning. Without someone to throw a floatation device or rope to the overboard sailor, and, as is often the case, with no means to reboard the boat, survival in the water, especially cold water, can be a daunting task.
Other than an occasional, deployed anchor line or an especially installed, boarding ladder that might extend to near the water's surface, few marine vessels have any structures near their water lines that an overboard sailor can grasp to stay afloat or use in trying to reboard a boat.
Some marine safety ladders do exist to aid the overboard sailor, but these apparently have deficiencies which are preventing their widespread use. See, for example, Plastimo Safety Ladder, Model No. 3761384, available from Navimo USA, Sarasota, Fla., at http://www.plastimousa.com/index.htm, or various rope ladders, such as “Knotted Bathing Ladder,” p 590, The Ashley Book of Knots, Doubleday & Co. (1944).
The patent literature that might be considered relevant to this topic includes
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,405,034, 4,747,797, 4,471,854, 6,382,352, 6,868,942, 6,899,582 and 7,014,594.
Thus, despite the existence of numerous marine safety devices, the continuing annual number of drowning deaths of overboard sailors suggests that is a need for improved, deployable-from-the-water, marine safety ladders.
3. Objects and Advantages
There has been summarized above, rather broadly, the prior art that is related to the present invention in order that the context of the present invention may be better understood and appreciated. In this regard, it is instructive to briefly consider the objects and advantages of the present invention.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved, deployable-from-the-water, marine safety ladder.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an improved marine safety ladder that can be easily used by an overboard sailor.
It is a further an object of the present invention to provide a marine safety ladder which is easily attached to a boat's exterior and deployable by an overboard sailor so as to provide the sailor with a means for reboarding the boat.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent as the invention is better understood by reference to the accompanying summary, drawings and the detailed description that follows.